Wrap wars - Dissection sizes up offerings of three burritos

Monday

Mar 18, 2013 at 9:53 AM

Where's the beef?

By Paul StephenPaul.Stephen@StarNewsOnline.com

Where's the beef?Not in a bun if you're looking along Oleander Drive between Independence Mall and College Road. That particular stretch is paved with tortillas thanks to the recent opening of Chipotle Mexican Grill, which, with Moe's Southwest Grill, sandwiches Flaming Amy's Burrito Barn. All three specialize in Mission-style burritos, characterized by the jumbo size, foil wrapping and ingredients that can diverge wildly from the traditional filling of beans, rice and meat.But what, exactly, makes our competitors tick? Chipotle's "Food with Integrity" mantra is well known. Moe's touts its grass-fed beef and cage-free chicken. And Flaming Amy's can slide into the role of scrappy, locally owned underdog battling the neighboring Goliaths. We decided it was time to take a closer look at the offerings along Burrito Row, and subject the wraps to some scientific analysis. Orders from all three were placed within two minutes of each other at 3 p.m. on a Wednesday afternoon, well after the lunch rush. All three were the house standard wrap, ordered with chicken, white rice and black beans for consistency. The sample size was very limited, as we figured it was sin enough to destroy three perfectly good burritos in the name of anything, let alone investigative journalism. This means, of course, that results may vary, possibly even drastically, from the meals we were served on our lone visit.We opted against subjecting the burritos to a taste test, mainly because eating burritos dissected by medical instruments (kindly loaned to the StarNews food lab by Ashley High School science teacher Sandra Cecelski) seemed kind of gross. We were good with comparing the chips, though.I'd like to note that when weighing the protein portion, every effort was made to find all scraps of chicken. All of the meat weights are slightly high, as not every bit of guacamole, sour cream or salsa could be removed, but I did my best. And while my geometry skills are a little rusty, rest assured that the cubic inch measurements are at least consistently questionable.So with no further rambling, let's take a look at the numbers.

4401 Oleander Drive and 1427 Military Cutoff Road in WilmingtonYear founded: 2000 in AtlantaNumber of locations: More than 400, according to parent company FOCUS Brands Inc.Burrito ordered: Homewrecker with chicken, $7.81 (chips included)Bag as picked up: 1 pound 10.6 ouncesBurrito (wrapped): 1 pound 6.4 ouncesChips: 3.6 ouncesProtein: 2.95 ouncesSize: 51.8903 cubic inchesPrice per ounce (excluding chips): 34.87 centsLab log: Moe's was easily the most generous with the guacamole and sour cream. The included vegetables were of acceptable appearance, but the chicken was the driest of the three samples. Despite the odd hour, Moe's was slammed at the time of pickup, which may (although shouldn't) affect results. We gave the Moe's chips a second place award. While of excellent crispness, they lacked salinity.

1525 Fordham Road, Wilmington, in the Whole Foods parking lotYear founded: 1993Number of locations: 1,430Burrito ordered: They just call it a burrito, with chicken, $6.69Bag as picked up: 1 pound, 11.05 ouncesBurrito (wrapped): 1 pound 2.25 ouncesChips: 4.85 ounces (chips are not included, we ordered a side for $1.87)Protein: 3.25 ouncesSize: 47.0845 cubic inchesPrice per ounce (excluding chips): 36.66 centsPrice per ounce (including cost of chips): 46.9 centsLab log: Chipotle's offering, while weighing in at a half pound less than the largest competitor, had a balanced appearance. Easily the most appetizing vegetables upon inspection, with bright, crisp lettuce and plenty of sautéed peppers. Guac and sour cream were spotty to stingy, although salsa was well applied. Chipotle's chips handily bested the rivals, which should be expected, as customers are expected to pay extra for them.

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